3 Bolt Court Chambers

BARRISTER

Year of Call : 1997

Mr Claire has grown up in the inner city of Birmingham and has variously over the years worked in a number of community organisations. He has gained a wealth of experience of working with people from diverse backgrounds.  He is deeply committed to helping those groups who might otherwise “get a raw deal out of the system.” Rajinder has always been passionate about pursuing a career in the law.

He has a wide range of criminal and civil experience and is regularly instructed by both prosecution and defence.  He is also qualified to accept instructions direct from members of the public. He has a wide-ranging experience of all immigration matters up to including court of appeal work.

Rajinder has a deep commitment to social justice and in this regard has stood for parliament in 2005 and in the European elections in 2009.

He was interviewed regarding the administration of justice following the social unrest in the summer of 2011, and his comments were published by the Guardian and other notable newspapers. http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/aug/11/uk-riots-courtrooms-country

Additionally he was also interviewed by BBC Radio and regularly appear on the Venus TV to provide pro bono advice on Immigration and Asylum Law.

He has also co-written an article on recent changes to Immigration Law that was published in August 2011 in the popular Express News Latin-American newspaper published in England, Madrid, Bogota and Miami 

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

Immigration Law

Asylum Law

Civil Law

Family Law

Criminal Law

Common Law

SKILLS/EXPERIENCE

In October 2015, Rajinder Claire successfully represented an elected councillor on a charge of assault at Bexley Magistrates court. A verdict of not guilty resulted and a defence costs order was granted.

In 2014 he appeared in the Court of appeal in R v H 201306469 and successfully argued that a term of imprisonment of 55 months was manifestly excessive in respect of a charge under s16a of the Firearms Act 1968.

In 2013 Rajinder also represented a very senior member of a Sikh Temple in the West Midlands on a charge of assault and affray, this was a three handed trial at Wolverhampton Crown court that ran for two weeks. At the close of the crowns case he successfully argued that there was no case to answer on the assault charge. Consequently the crown also decided not to proceed on the charge of affray.

In 2011 appeared in the Court of Appeal in a case involving serious mortgage fraud. –R v D April 2011.

Mr Claire appeared in the Central Criminal Court in November 2011 on an International Revenue Share Fraud involving O2 and running to losses in the region of £4 million. R v H November 2011.

Rajinder has comprehensive experience of Human Rights, Immigration and Asylum Law. He appears regularly in both the First tier and Upper Tribunal of the Asylum and Immigration Chamber, as well as the Administrative Court in Judicial Review matters. He has extensive experience of all areas in this field including asylum, family appeals, deportation appeals, work permits, student appeals and cases involving Rule 320 of the Immigration Rules. i.e., where it is alleged that fraudulent documents have been lodged in support of an application to enter the U.K. This has come to be increasingly invoked where it is alleged that a genuine British passport has been obtained by deception in Kosovo/Albanian cases.  

He recently succeeded in preventing the deportation of an Azerbaijan national who had been given a 14 year term of imprisonment in the U.K. He succeeded in proving that the Appellant could not be removed as his rights under Article 3 of the ECHR would be infringed upon return to Azerbaijan. (A v Secretary of State for the Home Department March 2011.

PREVIOUS WORK

Rajinder conducts work in the field of family law, including child care proceedings. He was recently instructed on an Ancillary relief matter where the total assets were in excess of £3 million pounds.

QUALIFICATIONS                                             DATE                                     AWARDING BODY

                                                                        OBTAINED

Level 2 Accredited Case worker                 2005                                          Central Law Training

Accredited by the Legal Aid

Agency to conduct Immigration

work at all levels

Immigration Supervisor                                 2005                                       

The Bar Vocational Course                           1997                                       Grade - Competent

Inns of Court School of Law

London

Degree                                                                 1992                                       Grade - 2nd Class

University of Wolverhampton                                                                     LLB hons

Level 2 Accredited Case worker                 2005                                          Central Law Training

Accredited by the Legal Aid

Agency to conduct Immigration

work at all levels

Immigration Supervisor                                 2005                                       

The Bar Vocational Course                           1997                                       Grade - Competent

Inns of Court School of Law

London

Degree                                                                 1992                                       Grade - 2nd Class

University of Wolverhampton                                                                     LLB hons